Man says he was beaten while walking home from Lorain bar

LORAIN — Police said a 44-year-old Lorain man was hospitalized after being severely beaten by a man who accused him of flirting with his girlfriend.

The alleged victim, Ricardo Ortiz, told police he was walking home from Club Copa on Broadway at 2:35 a.m. Saturday when he was beaten by two men, one of which had a baseball bat, after they pulled up to him in a vehicle. Ortiz said he was involved in an argument with one of the men at the bar over a “girl who works at the bank.”

Police said Ortiz’s face was bloody and he had swollen eyes and a cut on the back of his head. Police said several of Ortiz’s teeth were knocked out during the fight, and Ortiz seemed disoriented.

Ortiz told police he panicked when a man walked out of the vehicle with a baseball bat, so he threw a decorate flower pot at the vehicle, smashing one of the windows. He said, after that, both men began beating him.

Police spoke with a witness who said he saw a silver SUV pull up to Ortiz and two men get out of the vehicle. He said he saw Ortiz throw a flower pot at the car and then one of the men began beating him with a baseball bat.

The witness said he drove up to the scene of the fight and threatened to call police when the men drove away.

At 3:46 a.m., police were contacted by Elvin Marquez Jr., 22, who told police he was involved in a fight at West Sixth Street and Broadway. He said he was at Club Copa with his girlfriend when she pointed out Ortiz, who she said frequently comes into Chase Bank where she works and flirts with her.

Marquez said he walked up to Ortiz in a “deceptive manner” and started talking to him about how good “the girl standing over there,” his girlfriend, looked.

Ortiz agreed, according to a police report, when Marquez said the woman was his girlfriend and to leave her alone. The two reportedly started arguing when Ortiz pushed Marquez, and Marquez was kicked out of the bar after trying to fight Ortiz.

Marquez told police he was “so mad” about the situation, so he waited outside the bar for Ortiz to leave. Marquez said after he approached Ortiz, his friend pulled up next to them in a vehicle, but he would not tell police who the man was, saying he didn’t remember because he was mad.

According to Marquez, Ortiz then threw the flower pot at the vehicle, so he started fighting him. He denied that a baseball bat had been used in the fight, or that the man in the vehicle had been involved in the fight, but he admitted to punching Ortiz several times in the head, knocking him to the ground where he started kicking him in the head “over and over,” according to the report.

Marquez said he believed Ortiz had been knocked out, but he still kept kicking him in the head until the witness pulled up and said he was calling police.

Police said Marquez was intoxicated and admitted to drinking prior to the event.

Marquez was arrested and charged with felonious assault and taken to Lorain City Jail. He was arraigned Monday in Lorain Municipal Court, where he was released on a $7,500 surety bond.

According to the police report, police were investigating a second man, who they believe is involved in the incident.